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Thursday, June 08, 2017

creating with a kid: pom pom painting

For the parents out there with kiddos home for summer, I've got some fun kid's art projects coming your way in the weeks and months ahead!

MY PHILOSOPHY ON CREATING WITH KID

My long time readers know I've been making art with Lucy from day one. From riding on my back while I filmed online classes to letting her create with me in the studio, it's been a priority to share the art making process with my daughter. As I have mentioned in the past it is important for both my husband and I to incorporate Lucy into as many creative projects as possible. And while it makes no difference to us if Lucy grows up to be an artist, we do want her to be a creative thinker. I believe creativity and the ability to think in a creative way is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children and while I am always evolving as an artist and mom, I am learning so much as I watch her develop her own voice.

One of my favorite process art projects is pom pom painting! I love it because it's messy but even better, it's a really fun way to get kids to experiment with expression and a way to work with painting materials other than brushes. As an artist, I've learned that pushing myself to use alternative materials or unexpected supplies has help me better connect with the "process" rather than the outcome of an art project. This is something that I really want to pass onto Lucy. And at five years old, she totally loves getting lost in the process of a colorful, messy and fun project!

We started with a blank piece of butcher paper tacked up to my moveable studio wall but you could also lay that paper on the ground.

Next, I set up a palette of paint and a pile of pom poms and then I set her loose!

She rolled and dipped the pom poms in the paint and began by throwing them at the paper. This is a really fun process for kids (and any age for that matter) because throwing paint at a wall feels like something you shouldn't be doing! But it's also a really fun way to create with lots of energy and expression.

Lucy rolled the pom poms in paint and tossed them over and over again at the wall.

The more comfortable she got, the harder and more confident she got at throwing those paint soaked pom poms!

Without telling her exactly what to do, I encouraged Lucy to see what what other ways she could use the pom poms. And she began painting and making marks. The cool thing about painting with pom poms is that they soak up a lot of paint which makes the process really fun! You can drag, swipe, plop, throw, and dab those pom poms all over the surface.

Then we blasted our music and and SHE WENT WILD!!

No matter your age, never underestimate what good loud music will do for your creative process!

We spent about 30 minutes on a couple of these paintings. The end result wasn't a masterpiece but boy oh boy did she have so much fun expressing herself!

3 comments:

I was thinking the same thing, as I read thru the post! I want to paint with a pom pom! I make them from different yarns with all sorts of thicknesses, that will give lots of texture. Thanks for the great ideas, Alisa and Lucy!